The Minnesota Vikings are preparing to go all-in at finding their quarterback of the future and a name that has surfaced in the wake of NFL free agency is Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert.
Coming off the firing of head coach Brandon Staley, Herbert has watched the Chargers hit reset and dismantle the roster around him, sending off his top offensive weapons in running back Austin Ekeler and receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.
There’s also speculation that newly hired coach Jim Harbaugh wants to start over and bring in his quarterback from Michigan, J.J. McCarthy — making Herbert the subject of trade chatter among Vikings fans and reporters.
While there isn’t any steam from Los Angeles that the Chargers are looking to move off Herbert, SKOR North’s Phil Mackey urged the Vikings front office to pursue the possibility of a trade.
“I make the phone call, just to explore it,” Mackey said during a “Purple Daily” segment on March 17, adding that it wouldn’t be a wise move for the Chargers in the short term. “I think swallowing all that dead money would be really stupid and problematic with that franchise, but you’re damn right I make the phone call.”
Chargers Have Too Much to Lose By Parting Ways With Justin Herbert
When looking at this year’s top quarterback targets for the Vikings like Drake Maye or McCarthy, the ideal would be for them to reach Herbert’s production and competence in the pocket.
Selected sixth overall in 2020, Herbert won Offensive Rookie of the Year throwing for 4,336 yards, 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The next season, he surpassed 5,000 yards passing and threw 38 touchdowns en route to his first Pro Bowl appearance.
Herbert has shown to take good care of the ball throughout his career, averaging a 66.6% completion percentage and a 1.4% interception rate along with 4,305.8 yards a season in his career.
He was awarded with a five-year, $262.5 million extension last offseason that seemingly locked him in as the Chargers franchise quarterback for the rest of this decade.
Harbaugh’s arrival has brought significant roster changes that signal Los Angeles may want to shift to a more run-heavy approach — begging the question of whether it’s worthwhile to pay a quarterback over $50 million a season.
However, the Chargers would have to eat over $100 million in dead cap to trade Herbert, making any trade chatter a non-starter.
The Vikings would have to offer a massive deal for Los Angeles to move on, likely at least three first-round picks and a player to get the conversation started.
Vikings Want the Benefits of a Rookie QB
The biggest boon to what Herbert offered Los Angeles the past four seasons was Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback play on a criminally cheap rookie-scale contract.
Those days are gone for the Chargers, and they’re now ailing with the blowback from inflated veteran contracts that were offered after trying to go all-in the past few seasons.
The Vikings are in a different place with a roster that has shed its veterans over the years and is working to build youth and depth. The departure of Kirk Cousins signaled a massive shift in free-agent spending habits as the Vikings went out and signed several free agents who are entering their primes.
That’s a trend that can continue with a rookie quarterback who hopefully can reach Pro Bowl status, like Herbert has, in their first four seasons.
